MLB Baseball: Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 3:45 pm (AT&T Park)

TV: SportsNet LA, CSN-BA

The Los Angeles Dodgers hope to avoid being swept by the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. The Giants won game 2, 2-1.

The Dodgers have now lost four of their first five games this season against the Giants and are having a hard time hitting the Giants pitching. The Dodgers have just scored three combined runs in their first two games in this series, and Carl Crawford is 0-8 at the plate. Hyun-Jin Ryu will need another solid outing with the lineup struggling, as he’s 2-1 on the season with a 2.57 ERA and has 22 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. Ryu has started six games against the Giants in his career, and he’s 2-3 with an ERA of 3.89.

USA TODAY Sports

The Giants have won four of their last five games and have taken an early lead for first place in the NL West. Brandon belt continues to tear the cover off the ball with a .300 batting average, and he has four hits in this series. However, the Giants pitching that has allowed two or less runs in three of their last four games has been the real story. Madison Bumgarner has contributed to those numbers, as the Giants starter is 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA and has 20 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. Bumgarner has also dominated the Dodgers in his career, as he’s 9-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 12 starts against LA.

The Dodgers are 7-1 in Ryu's last 8 starts as an underdog and 15-7 in Ryu's last 22 starts. The Giants are 5-0 in Bumgarner's last 5 starts as a favorite and 27-12 in Bumgarner's last 39 starts as a home favorite. The Giants are 5-1 in Bumgarner's last 6 starts vs. Dodgers.

Why would you pick against the Giants at that price. San Fran has had the Dodgers number all season and now has one of its better pitchers on the mound, a pitcher who has won five of his last six starts against the Dodgers. The Dodgers for whatever reason can't hit the ball with a loaded lineup, and it doesn't help with the Giants pitching staff on point.

San Francisco Giants -118

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